Bahçeli’s Illusions Surrounding Aleppo Fortress

On 12 November 1918, the first group of French troops entered Constantinople to occupy the city under the Mudros Armistice, which had been signed just days earlier on 30 October. French General Després entered the city on horseback. Did the Turks have a problem with the occupation? This is a significant and complex question, but it has been clarified over the course of more than a century with the accumulation of documents and testimonies. Everyone was aware, including leaders like Enver Pasha, Jamal Pasha, Talaat Pasha, and Mustafa Kemal, who was in Aleppo struggling to withdraw.

A few days earlier, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, remarked on the incident of a small Turkish flag briefly hung on the Aleppo Citadel, considering it a confirmation of the alleged Turkish identity of an ancient city. A group of Turks had stood under its walls a thousand years ago, many of whom did not know its name or how to pronounce it. Can a city truly be Turkish when the Turks arrived as immigrants and didn’t even know how to pronounce its name?

In the same speech, Bahçeli described Kurdish fighters as “vermin,” despite his claims to be a proponent of peace between Kurds and Turks. Before delving into Bahçeli’s misconceptions regarding Aleppo Castle, it is essential to reiterate that importing Turkish hate speech into Syria will ensure the country transforms into a model for identity-based killings, eventually becoming an isolated land rife with crime. It is easy to fall into this abyss given the number of regional countries dissatisfied with this change and searching for vulnerabilities, with no point of destruction equaling the importation of Turkish hate speech into Syrian territory.

The borders of Lausanne were drawn by Mustafa Kemal, who warned the Turks against exceeding them in a speech he delivered in 1926.

In any case, any flag, including Turkey’s, can easily be hung on the walls of the Aleppo Citadel as part of an organized, planned act that incurs little cost in such emotional fervor. It is even possible to hang Azerbaijan’s flag for a few minutes. Otherwise, the “revolutionaries of Ankara” would have hung Bahçeli’s flag next to the opposition’s flag on the citadel’s façade, just as they do in the occupied areas of Afrin and Azaz.

The danger of Bahçeli’s narrative lies in the context of fabricating a crisis that had nearly faded away—namely, Turkey’s geographic expansion and its departure from the borders established by the Treaty of Lausanne, alongside the invocation of the Milli Charter, which is a document of principles but not a geographical agreement except in the minds of the misled. The borders of Lausanne were drawn by Mustafa Kemal, who warned the Turks against exceeding them in a speech he delivered in 1926. This was the last reward for the Turkish people after they had come close to disappearing and were on the brink of extinction.

Notably, Cemal Pasha, the commander of armies in Syria, wrote in his memoirs that he frequently defended both Kurds and Turks against Russian attacks on the Caucasus front and advocated for the shared rights of both peoples in the six disputed provinces (Amed, Bitlis, Van, Erzurum, Kharbet, and Sivas). Cemal Pasha began writing his memoirs in 1917 while in Syria, continuing until shortly before his assassination in Tbilisi in 1922 by an Armenian rebel. He and Mustafa Kemal spent significant time together in military settings in Syria and Aleppo, where Mustafa Kemal served as the commander of the Seventh Army in the final days of World War I. This new army was part of a formation named “Thunderbolt,” which also included the Sixth Army in Mesopotamia and the Fourth Army in southern Syria, under the command of a German general and the supervision of Cemal Pasha.

Mustafa Kemal’s own testimony highlights the severe difficulties he faced during the withdrawal from Syria. The atmosphere was unwelcoming, and the loyalty of the people towards this army and its leadership was lacking. Mustafa Kemal himself was physically attacked within the city of Aleppo, barely escaping with a group of his men and retreating to the Kurdish town of Qatma, where a major train station provided transportation to Adana in Anatolia.

The southern front had completely collapsed, with no popular support for the Ottoman forces, and the most pressing issue of the general war—the conflict between the population and the army over resources, bread, and medicines—remained unresolved. In his memoirs, Mustafa Kemal mentions making a “crazy decision” to withdraw to Aleppo. Yet, the order to withdraw was largely symbolic amidst widespread desertion from the Ottoman army, amounting to around 300,000 deserters.

The Turkish forces initiated their withdrawal immediately, marching day and night. Among the retreating troops was Lieutenant General Mustafa Kemal, the commander of the Seventh Army.

The chronological and geographical sequence of the withdrawal leading to Aleppo is significant, especially when comparing those moments to the occasion of the Turkish flag being displayed at Aleppo Citadel on 29 November 2024. This event is indeed artificial, resembling a Turkish agent infiltrating the citadel with a flag to stage a photo. Bahçeli’s flag was not there for long, evident by its brief appearance. Should it ever be permanently raised over Aleppo Citadel, it would signify the end for Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

As the Turkish battlefront in Palestine began to crumble, the Turkish forces received an order from command to evacuate their positions immediately and to proceed as swiftly as possible, without stopping, to Daraa. The order included instructions not to get distracted by any developments during their retreat, in order to stay focused on the objective of reaching Daraa, which was seen as a vital railway junction; the Turkish military command feared losing this location to British forces.

The Turkish forces initiated their withdrawal immediately, marching day and night. Among the retreating troops was Lieutenant General Mustafa Kemal, the commander of the Seventh Army.

After reaching Daraa, the troops continued their retreat to Damascus. During this withdrawal, Mustafa Kemal faced chaos and defeat among the remnants of his forces, struggling to maintain order amid disarray. When Sultan Pasha al-Atrash and his forces entered Damascus from the al-Midan neighborhood and took control before the British forces arrived, Mustafa Kemal, who was staying at the Victoria Hotel—the headquarters of the Ottoman army—was compelled to withdraw.

At the same time, the British-Arab forces arrived in Damascus and raised the Arab flag, causing a considerable commotion among those witnessing the event. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Mustafa Kemal immediately left the hotel, got into his car, and departed Damascus with his guards toward the north. Following him was another detachment from the Thunderbolt Army, tasked with blowing up bridges on the way to hinder the progress of the British-Arab forces.

The remnants of the Ottoman forces continued their retreat north from Damascus, either via Rayak by railway or along the road, pursued by British forces from both land and air. Some Turkish troops fell victim to gunfire during their retreat to Damascus. Fires blazed everywhere as the Turks and Germans destroyed what could not be transported, with the most severe explosion occurring at an ammunition depot in the Qadam area of Damascus.

Turkish and German soldiers faced disarmament or were killed by groups of local residents. In Baalbek, civilians blew up multiple trains and looted their contents. Similar acts of pillaging occurred in Dummar, Douma, and particularly in the Sarghaya area.

Many young men from the countryside of Damascus and its suburbs robbed defeated Turkish soldiers of their rifles, and those who resisted faced merciless gunfire. In Sarghaya, located in the Zabadani district, owning a rifle often meant death for its bearer. Armed men from the al-Shamat family ambushed soldiers passing through their valley, demanding they surrender their weapons to save their lives. Those who refused faced dire consequences.

The Sarghaya Valley witnessed a massacre orchestrated by Colonel al-Shamat and his group, who killed a company of Germans—Turkey’s allies—who managed to evade capture while tracking the retreating infantry along the railway line. When they fell into an ambush and refused to surrender their arms, they fought fiercely until they were all slain, leaving the valley strewn with their corpses.

In summary, gangs formed on the outskirts of Damascus to pursue the remnants of the Turkish and German forces, looting their weapons, belongings, and money. These groups engaged in battles with the retreating Turkish army, decimating many and seizing substantial amounts of gold, silver, jewelry, and other valuables.

The Turkish forces withdrew from Homs on 15 October 1918, and reached Hama, where Mustafa Kemal settled in the government house. As the train passed through Hama station en route to Aleppo, it carried soldiers and passengers while hundreds, if not thousands, of Turkish soldiers and the families of officials occupied the roofs of trucks and vehicles because they could not find space inside.

Mounir al-Rayyes, in his book “The Great Syrian Revolution,” published in 1969, describes the sight of retreating soldiers as pitiful, profoundly affecting the conservative and religious residents of Hama. Their faces reflected deep sadness as they witnessed the defeat of a Muslim state that had coexisted with Arabs for four hundred years under the banner of religion, initially considering them subjects without distinction from other nationalities within the state, until the extreme Turkish nationalists from the Union and Progress Party emerged.

Al-Rayyes emphasizes a unique moment when Hama displayed discipline under the leadership of its social figures, choosing not to attack the Ottoman forces. He notes, “The people of Hama refused to take revenge on the defeated sons of their faith, despite what they had done—killing, impoverishing, starving, exploiting, and destroying Arab lands. Thus, no incidents occurred during the Turkish withdrawal from Hama that would upset them, except for one incident that took place during the final days of the withdrawal at the station.”

Mustafa Kemal remained at the Hama Mutasarifat for three nights, and on the morning of the third day, 17 October, the locals awoke to a statement broadcast by Mustafa Kemal before his departure. He thanked the people of Hama for their calmness and the noble sentiments they showed during the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from their city, bidding them farewell with heartfelt words.

After Mustafa Kemal left Hama, two hours later, a cavalry company from the Thunderbolt Army—a final military unit to leave the city—blew up the Zahiriya Bridge, an iron bridge over the Orontes River. They had previously destroyed a railway bridge between Homs and Hama in the village of Harb Nafsa.

During Mustafa Kemal’s stay in Hama, he ordered the army’s grain depot, located near the station, to be opened for the Bedouin tribes, allowing them to take as much grain as they desired and transport it to their homes. Meanwhile, the locals observed this without taking any action.

Mounir al-Rayyes speculates that the Turks bought the tranquility during their withdrawal by taking what the state required from the people. While the Bedouins unloaded the grain warehouse, they were unexpectedly confronted by two British planes. Noticing the crowd and activity in the square near the station, a prime target for the British aircraft, the planes dropped bombs on the Bedouin tribes.

Al-Rayyes also mentions the sale of the army’s warehouses in Hama, attributing it to Major Qula Gassi, the head of the recruitment division in Hama, who was responsible for the army’s warehouses in September 1918.

After Hama, the retreating Turkish forces arrived in Maara, from which they also withdrew on 19 October, and continued their march toward Aleppo. These forces struggled to manage the exhaustion from the relentless movement, moving from one city to another, stage after stage.

In Aleppo, Turkish forces gathered along with senior German and Turkish officers, led by Commander-in-Chief Von Sanders. The officers checked into the Baron Hotel, which became their headquarters. Meanwhile, Field Marshal Von Sanders informed the Turkish government of his resignation. The government then appointed Mustafa Kemal as the new commander-in-chief, and both Von Sanders and the German officers departed Aleppo for Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal arrived in Aleppo on 5 October. From there, he wrote a furious letter at the end of the war to Istanbul, stating, “The withdrawal could have been organized properly if it weren’t for the idiocy of Enver Pasha, who was the Director General of Operations.”

Mustafa Kemal benefitted from the gold funds sent by the Turkish government with Subhi Bey, which were intended for distribution by Officer Jamal Mersinli to the local tribes. However, Mersinli was unable to receive these funds due to his return from the front. Consequently, Subhi handed the money over to Mustafa Kemal in Aleppo. Instead of distributing it to the clans, Kemal chose to pay his soldiers three months’ salaries to bolster morale. He also noted in his memoirs that he distributed money to the people and Bedouins in Aleppo, promising them weapons.

Following Mustafa Kemal’s withdrawal from Aleppo, the British aimed to track him and his forces, intending to strike before they could initiate strongholds in the Taurus Mountains.

However, prior to the arrival of the British-Arab forces, chaos erupted in Aleppo. Some Bedouins from the Anza tribe launched attacks, leading to street fighting. Mustafa Kemal was even ambushed while in his car. Warehouses, hospitals, and government buildings were raided, with everything within reach being looted, as these institutions lacked adequate security.

In response to this unrest, Mustafa Kemal attempted to establish a defensive line north of Aleppo, near the village of al-Muslimiya, mobilizing all available retreating Turkish troops. His forces numbered approximately 5,500 men. Although they initially held their ground in a minor confrontation, the growing numbers of Arab and Bedouin forces forced him to abandon Aleppo and retreat further north, where he established his final defensive line in the Afrin region at Qatma station.

During this turmoil, the Bedouins overran the prison in Aleppo, liberating the inmates. Several Arab officers defected from the army and joined the Arab forces, later leading to the British and Arab armies entering Aleppo on 26 October 1918.

Following Mustafa Kemal’s withdrawal from Aleppo, the British aimed to track him and his forces, intending to strike before they could initiate strongholds in the Taurus Mountains. Mustafa Kemal was frustrated by this rapid pursuit, as his army had reorganized after engagements in Homs, Hama, and Aleppo. In response, he launched a counter-attack that caught the British forces off guard, driving them back to the gates of Aleppo. He then continued his retreat towards the Taurus Mountains, following the same route taken by all invaders who had come from the north to Syria, notably traversed once by Hercules. It is rumored he said: “Goodbye, beautiful Syria, goodbye, and farewell without a reunion.”